Thatalwaysseemstomeromanticandwasteful。Youneverhearfromitinanydefiniteway。Theysaythemissionarieshavedoneagooddealtoopenthewayfortrade；perhaps——buttheyhavealsogottenusintocommercialandpoliticaldifficulties。YetIgivetothem——alittle——itisamatterofconsciencewithmetoidentifymyselfwithalltheenterprisesoftheChurch；itisthemainstayofsocialorderandaprosperouscivilization。Butthebestformsofbenevolencearethewell-established，organizedoneshereathome，wherepeoplecanseethemandknowwhattheyaredoing。\"
\"Youmeantheonesthathavealocalhabitationandaname。\"
\"Yes；theyofferbyfarthesafestreturn，thoughofcoursethereissomethinggainedbycontributingtogeneralfunds。Apublicmancan\'taffordtobewithoutpublicspirit。ButonthewholeIpreferabuilding，oranendowment。Thereisamutualadvantagetoagoodnameandagoodinstitutionintheirconnectioninthepublicmind。
Ithelpsthemboth。Rememberthat，myboy。Ofcourseatthebeginningyouwillhavetopractiseitinasmallway；later，youwillhavelargeropportunities。Buttrytoputyourgiftswheretheycanbeidentifiedanddogoodallaround。You\'llseethewisdomofitinthelongrun。\"
\"Icanseeitalready，sir，andthewayyoudescribeitlooksamazinglywiseandprudent。Inotherwords，wemustcastourbreadonthewatersinlargeloaves，carriedbysoundshipsmarkedwiththeowner\'sname，sothatthereturnfreightwillbesuretocomebacktous。\"
Thefatherlaughed，buthiseyeswerefrowningalittleasifhesuspectedsomethingirreverentundertherespectfulreply。
\"Youputithumorously，butthere\'ssenseinwhatyousay。Whynot？
Godrulesthesea；butHeexpectsustofollowthelawsofnavigationandcommerce。Whynottakegoodcareofyourbread，evenwhenyougiveitaway？\"
\"It\'snotformetosaywhynot——andyetIcanthinkofcases——\"
Theyoungmanhesitatedforamoment。Hishalf-finishedcigarhadgoneout。Heroseandtosseditintothefire，infrontofwhichheremainedstanding——aslender，eager，restlessyoungfigure，withatouchofhungerinthefineface，strangelylikeandunlikethefather，atwhomhelookedwithhalf-wistfulcuriosity。
\"Thefactis，sir，\"hecontinued，\"thereissuchacaseinmymindnow，anditisagooddealonmyheart，too。SoIthoughtofspeakingtoyouaboutitto-night。YourememberTomRollins，theJuniorwhowassogoodtomewhenIenteredcollege？\"
Thefathernodded。Herememberedverywellindeedtheannoyingincidentsofhisson\'sfirstescapade，andhowRollinshadstoodbyhimandhelpedtoavoidapublicdisgrace，andhowaclosefriendshiphadgrownbetweenthetwoboys，sodifferentintheirfortunes。
\"Yes，\"hesaid，\"Irememberhim。Hewasapromisingyoungman。
Hashesucceeded？\"
\"Notexactly——thatisnotyet。Hisbusinesshasbeengoingratherbadly。
Hehasawifeandlittlebaby，youknow。Andnowhehasbrokendown，——
somethingwrongwithhislungs。ThedoctorsayshisonlychanceisayearoreighteenmonthsinColorado。Iwishwecouldhelphim。\"
\"Howmuchwoulditcost？\"
\"Threeorfourthousand，perhaps，asaloan。\"
\"Doesthedoctorsayhewillgetwell？\"
\"Afightingchance——thedoctorsays。\"
Thefaceoftheoldermanchangedsubtly。Notalinewasaltered，butitseemedtohaveadifferentsubstance，asifitwerecarvedoutofsomefirm，imperishablestuff。
\"Afightingchance，\"hesaid，\"maydoforaspeculation，butitisnotagoodinvestment。YouowesomethingtoyoungRollins。
Yourgratefulfeelingdoesyoucredit。Butdon\'toverworkit。
Sendhimthreeorfourhundred，ifyoulike。You\'llneverhearfromitagain，exceptintheletterofthanks。ButforHeaven\'ssakedon\'tbesentimental。Religionisnotamatterofsentiment；
it\'samatterofprinciple。\"
Thefaceoftheyoungermanchangednow。Butinsteadofbecomingfixedandgraven，itseemedtomeltintolifebytheheatofaninwardfire。Hisnostrilsquiveredwithquickbreath，hislipswerecurled。\"Principle！\"hesaid。\"Youmeanprincipal——andinteresttoo。Well，sir，youknowbestwhetherthatisreligionornot。
Butifitis，countmeout，please。Tomsavedmefromgoingtothedevil，sixyearsago；andI\'llbedamnedifIdon\'thelphimtothebestofmyabilitynow。\"
JohnWeightmanlookedathissonsteadily。\"Harold，\"hesaidatlast，\"youknowIdislikeviolentlanguage，anditneverhasanyinfluencewithme。IfIcouldhonestlyapproveofthispropositionofyours，I\'dletyouhavethemoney；butIcan\'t；
it\'sextravagantanduseless。ButyouhaveyourChristmascheckforathousanddollarscomingtoyouto-morrow。Youcanuseitasyouplease。
Ineverinterferewithyourprivateaffairs。\"
\"Thankyou，\"saidHarold。\"Thankyouverymuch！Butthere\'sanotherprivateaffair。Iwanttogetawayfromthislife，thistown，thishouse。
Itstiflesme。YourefusedlastsummerwhenIaskedyoutoletmegouptoGrenfell\'sMissionontheLabrador。Icouldgonow，atleastasfarastheNewfoundlandStation。Haveyouchangedyourmind？\"
\"Notatall。Ithinkitisanexceedinglyfoolishenterprise。
ItwouldinterruptthecareerthatIhavemarkedoutforyou。\"
\"Well，then，here\'sacheaperproposition。AlgyVanderhoofwantsmetojoinhimonhisyachtwith——well，withalittleparty——tocruiseintheWestIndies。Wouldyoupreferthat？\"
\"Certainlynot！TheVanderhoofsetiswildandgodless——Idonotwishtoseeyoukeepingcompanywithfoolswhowalkinthebroadandeasywaythatleadstoperdition。\"
\"Itisratherahardchoice，\"saidtheyoungman，withashortlaugh，turningtowardthedoor。\"Accordingtoyouthere\'sverylittledifference——afool\'sparadiseorafool\'shell！Well，it\'soneortheotherforme，andI\'lltossupforitto-night:heads，I
lose；
tails，thedevilwins。Anyway，I\'msickofthis，andI\'moutofit。\"
\"Harold，\"saidtheolderman（andtherewasaslighttremorinhisvoice），\"don\'tletusquarrelonChristmasEve。AllIwantistopersuadeyoutothinkseriouslyofthedutiesandresponsibilitiestowhichGodhascalledyou——don\'tspeaklightlyofheavenandhell——remember，thereisanotherlife。\"
Theyoungmancamebackandlaidhishanduponhisfather\'sshoulder。
\"Father，\"hesaid，\"Iwanttorememberit。Itrytobelieveinit。
Butsomehoworother，inthishouse，itallseemsunrealtome。
Nodoubtallyousayisperfectlyrightandwise。Idon\'tventuretoargueagainstit，butIcan\'tfeelit——that\'sall。IfI\'mtohaveasoul，eithertoloseortosave，Imustreallylive。Justnowneitherthepresentnorthefuturemeansanythingtome。Butsurelywewon\'tquarrel。